A New Dawn
by Moofin
Summary: Fox rolled her eyes and pushed his chest back in with a finger, deflating him. "Don't let your ego get the best of you, Roxas. Keep an eye on them..." Written as a Christmas gift for Panda54.
1. Like the Enemy

**A/N: Hello everyone! Thanks for clicking A New Dawn. First, a little background for you: I wrote this story in three days, starting on 12/17/07. It was a Christmas gift for my best friend, and I finally remembered to put it up. **

**I hope you enjoy it!**

* * *

**Fox** was walking home from eating dinner at her favorite restaurant. She smiled to herself as she walked home in the dark, her stomach's growling quieted with a big meal. She was a girl with medium length red hair, and she wore a simple outfit of dark blue capris, a blue top, and a bow slung over her shoulder. She had peculiar scars on her face; two small lines from her cheeks back to her ears. It made her look like she had faint whiskers; this was how she got her name: Fox. She didn't know what her real name was, and she didn't want to. She liked having the name Fox.

She shifted her yew bow a little bit because it was digging into her shoulder. She wore it like a backpack, with the string as a strap and the wood on her back. Also on her back was a quiver that was slung diagonally across her back. It contained about 20 arrows, each with a small mark on them. The small mark was a blue heart, a slightly swirled one; this mark could be found just below the black crow feathers at the end of each arrow.

Fox smiled at the sky; even though she was 16 and shouldn't be out this late at night in Japan, she was highly confident that she would be fine. The only thing that would bother her at all today could be the Heartless.

The Heartless were mean little creatures that were pretty much self-explanatory: Heartless beings that attacked people to steal their hearts. Fox had been fighting them for a while, a secret avenger of the small town she lived in: Hokkaido. It was a small town that didn't have much, but it was quaint. Some buildings were cracked and broken down, but they were all used. Hokkaido wasn't that big of a city, but was saturated with Heartless. The townsfolk didn't know how to get rid of them; only Fox did. Besides, Fox kept it a secret that she could defeat them. She didn't want it getting out to everyone so they would come flock to her and ask for protection.

Right now, she was just known as the thief of the town and the Fox. She had never stolen anything; it was always the Heartless that took and killed and thieved. She didn't have the best luck and was usually caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Fox was okay with that, however. As long as they didn't know she was keeping them safe secretly, they could think whatever they wanted.

She saw something move in the shadows near the small house to her right. Her eyes darted over to the area and she stopped walking. She felt her heart start to beat quickly, like it always did when she felt a fight coming on. Most would call it fear, but Fox loved the feeling; the adrenaline rush that made you move fast as lightning, your quickened senses, your quick burst of power.

She scanned the darkness, trying to see if she could spot anything. She took her bow off her shoulder with one hand and grabbed an arrow with her other hand. She nocked it quickly and pointed the tip towards the movement, string drawn and ready to fire.

"Come on, Heartless. I'm ready for you," she breathed. She loved hunting the Heartless; it gave her something to look forward to at night. She usually slept during the day, because that's what the Heartless did. "To catch the enemy, you must be like the enemy" was Fox's philosophy.

She squinted her eyes and slowly padded silently to the building. She spun around quickly and put her back against the wall, trying to make herself unnoticeable. She looked around again, this time, the moon shining down between the alleyways to lighten the darkness a bit.

Then, she saw it. It was a small Shadow, with two antennae on top of its head and two glowing yellow eyes. Clenching and unclenching its spindly little hands, it was staring straight at her; probably delighted at having found a fresh heart to devour.

Little did it know that the heart belonged to Fox.

Fox smiled a grim smile at it. "There you are." She said, and pointed her bow at it. It snarled quietly, and rushed at her. She was quick, though, and loosed her arrow at it. It hit its mark, right in the center of its chest. It fell backward and screeched, a terrible high-pitched screech, clawing at the arrow protruding from its tiny chest. It writhed in pain, and Fox watched it with hate. Heartless were disgusting creatures that had no pity for people. None at all.

Then, it vanished in a small puff of smoke, leaving the arrow behind to clink slightly upon the stone ground as it fell.

Quick as lightning, Fox nocked another arrow and looked around hastily; shadows usually hunt in packs. She jumped to the used arrow and stood above it, scanning around for another Shadow. She looked quickly and carefully, looking in every direction.

_Not down that alleyway… not there… not by the trash cans_, she thought to herself, scanning quickly. She looked around one last time as a slight breeze picked up, blowing her hair around her face. She looked around, and decided that that was the only one. She slowly let down her guard and let her heart rate return to normal. She put away the nocked arrow that she had out, and then she bent down and picked up her used arrow, examining it slightly. The feathers weren't too bent, but the small heart had turned a deep red color.

Fox put her arm through the bow and held it on her shoulder again. With used arrow in hand, she ran out of the alley and down the street. She ran past the closed market vendors' stalls, the shops, and stores; the restaurants, a few people, and animals. She got out of he city and turned to her right, running up a small trail up a mountain. She ran for a bit more, tiring. She walked then, and caught her breath while she climbed the small trail.

Eventually she got to a little level area with some bushes and a few trees. She weaved her way through the trees and then came out at a little clearing, surrounded by trees on every side. There was a tiny, clear, freshwater creek that ran through the middle, and it had an island of land in the center. On the small island was a shack; it was Fox's home.

She really loved her home; it wasn't too big and wasn't too small. She hopped over the crude bridge (made of logs found in the woods) and walked up to it. She walked inside, smiling at it, and let her bow slide off her arm to land on her bed. She took her quiver off of her back and laid it next to the bow.

Fox grabbed a small bowl off a shelf, and then walked back outside, breathing in the nice mountain air. She could see the moon clearly in the small clearing. She bent down and let some clear water run into the bowl. She waited until it was full, and then put it to her lips and drank down the whole thing. "Ah!" she said happily, licking her lips. The water was cool and clear, and perfectly refreshing.

She sat back on the grass and took her socks and shoes off so she could put her feet in the water. Good thing it was the beginning of summertime, because the creek got really cold in the fall and winter months. She put her hands back, and then something dug into her hand.

Fox turned her head and lifted her hand; it was the arrow. "Oh!" she said, and just about hopped out of the water. She ran inside her shack quickly, and put the used arrow in a special box underneath her bed. Then, she grabbed a stick, a dagger, three feathers, and a stone. She also grabbed a long leather string from her wall, and then walked back outside.

She sat Indian-style and put all of her supplies down in front of her.

She kept her used arrows to make new ones later; each arrow could hold one Heartless, unless it was a strong one. It would need a few arrows to bring it down, then.

Once the heart turned red and the Heartless disappeared, it was trapped in the arrow for a little while until someone let it out by plucking the head and feathers off. Once that happened, then the Heartless would come out and the arrow would turn into just a regular arrow.

Fox picked up the stick and started taking off the bark with her dagger, and making it arrow-sized. Once it was a good size, she grabbed the stone and started shaping it into an arrow, the dagger making loud noises upon the rock. She thought about the Heartless she killed earlier while she worked.

Getting rid of the Heartless was the easy part; making new arrows was the hard part. Fox figured she had about 20 arrows in her quiver, so she didn't have to make any more soon. It was a tedious process, and not too safe. For Fox, however, she knew how to do it and could make one in about 10 minutes if she was lucky.

A small rabbit came out from the woods to find out what the commotion was. It scampered over to the edge of the creek on its side, and looked over at Fox on the other side of the creek. "Hey there, little fellow," murmured Fox, smiling at it. She had always lived alone, and was all right with that. The townsfolk pretty much hated her, but animals seemed to make up for the lost friendliness. They always visited Fox and she fed them sometimes.

The rabbit stood up on its hind legs and twitched his nose at Fox. _How d'you do?_ Fox envisioned it saying. She smiled at it, and answered her own thought, "I'm fine, thanks. Just making a Fire Arrow."

_A Fire Arrow, huh? Well I'll be. What is that, pray tell?_ His nose twitched again. Fox turned the arrowhead over and scraped at it some more. "Its what I call my arrows that I use against the Heartless. They are hard to make, but I can do it. Only takes a bit of work and a bit of will."

The rabbit sat down and hopped to the right, standing up again. _Oh? Sounds wonderful, really. Now, I am off to find some grub._ The rabbit scampered off as Fox grabbed the leather string. "Be careful, little rabbit. Watch out for Heartless."

She looked at her arrowhead; good thing her dagger was sharp, because that would have taken much longer to shape. She skillfully tied it to the top, and then tied three feathers to the bottom, each placed the same distance apart.

She looked at the arrow and smiled; it had turned out really well. She gathered her supplies and then stood up.

Fox walked into her shack and hopped up on her bed, pushing her quiver of Fire Arrows and her bow over to the side after putting her new arrow under the bed and her supplies away. She leaned against the wall and looked out her open door. The creek was flowing and babbling slightly, and the moon shining brightly to light the ground; it was so beautiful. Fox loved Hokkaido; it was such a beautiful little place, even if the people weren't that nice. She sighed and stood up, stretching. "Well, gotta get back to the Heartless." She picked up her quiver and slung it across her back as before. She put her bow on her shoulder to carry it as usual, and then walked out of her shack.

After pushing her hair behind her ears, she set off towards the city again. She hopped over the makeshift bridge and took off through the woods. She stopped at the exit to the trail, and looked around. It was so peaceful. Fox could see the whole city, and the plains, mountains, and forests in back of it. She jumped and slid down the slightly steep trail, making dirt and pebbles slide down with her. She slid to the bottom and jumped and walked a few paces, stopping and looking around; the only thing she heard was a few stray pebbles falling down after her to land quietly at her feet.

She nodded and headed off into the city. Only a few lights were on in the tightly packed city. That was the only flaw that she found with the town other than the people; it was too closely packed.

She padded off down the alleyways, sticking to the darkness. "To catch the enemy, you must be like the enemy," she breathed, and walked quietly and hid behind the nearest objects she could hide behind. She heard a small noise and crouched low to the ground behind a box. She removed her bow from her arm and got an arrow nocked and ready all in one movement and stood still.

There was the noise again. It sounded like something small shuffling around; probably a Heartless. Fox felt her heart rate speed up again, and she smiled. She slowly peeked over the top of the box, and then found what was making the noise: it was a Heartless Soldier. They were not that much fun, the Soldiers. They had hard metal crooked hats on their heads and big hands with claws on them. They could run fast and were quite powerful, compared to Shadows.

Luckily, this one had its back turned to Fox, who slowly raised the tip of the arrow to point straight at it's back. She closed one eye and sighted down the arrow, aiming just between the shoulder blades.

Then, she let the arrow loose. It whistled quietly through the night air to end up burrowing itself into the Heartless.

It shook violently and fell forward, being surprised by the attack. Quickly, Fox grabbed another Fire Arrow and nocked it, loosing it as soon as she had the string pulled back enough. It landed slightly left and below the first arrow.

The Heartless fell over and disappeared in a puff of smoke. Fox nodded grimly and then stood up quickly and stood with her back to the wall.

She glanced around, making sure none were near. She quickly did a small summersault and landed on her feet next to her arrows. She scooped them up, and hopped up quickly, running back to her hiding spot.

She glanced around once more, and then looked at the arrows; one had the red heart and the other had a blue heart still. She put the blue hearted one back in her quiver, and then put the used one in a little groove on the top of her bow. It fit snugly, and stayed in place.

This was another way that she could use to get rid of the used arrows. Fox didn't like using it, because once the new arrow was fired with the used one in the bow, it transported the Heartless to another area instead of killing it. However, it did make both of the Fire Arrows like new; it was a quick but dirty way to get more in a pinch.

Fox nocked another arrow, and fired it quickly, spotting a shadow that was lurking in the darkness. Immediately it disappeared, leaving two clean arrows (the one she had in her bow, and the one she just nocked) where it had been standing not a moment earlier. She stalked out from her hiding place and snatched up the arrows. Fox really did not like using that method, but she had to when she had to. She looked around at her surroundings: there were two alleyways she could go down. The one she just came from, so she went down the new alleyway carefully, staying hidden in the dark but stepping in the lighter areas when possible. This alleyway was much darker, but she went down it anyways.

One can never be too careful with shadows.

Fox silently walked down the alleyway and stopped at the next intersection. She walked into it slowly, not seeing any Heartless.

Suddenly, there were two Shadows in front of her. She reached up and pulled two arrows from her quiver, nocking them and loosing them quickly. They both bit the targets, and the two Shadows screeched and slowly faded away, leaving two used Fire Arrows in their place.

She put her foot out to go to the arrows, when a shadow jumped off the roof and landed at the two arrows. Quick as lightening, it picked up the arrows and took off down a crowded alleyway full of boxes.

"Hey!" yelled Fox, nocking an arrow and hopping up onto a box. If it got away with the arrow, it could change a human into a Heartless by stabbing them with it.

She hopped from that one to another, and then from there to the roof. She spotted the shadow that was fleeing deeper into the town, and Fox ran after it as fast as she could, her shoes clacking on the shingles of the roofs.

At the end of the roof, she jumped down, landing just in back of the Heartless. It jumped and went flying. Fox loosed her arrow at it, and missed. It jumped up and scampered down the alleyway as fast as it could.

"Damn," Fox muttered, and ran; scooping up the arrow as fast as possible. She got to the end of the alley and nocked her arrow quickly, looking around for the shadow.

Suddenly, she found it. It was running towards someone on the ground, arrow poised and ready to stab. Fox aimed quickly and quietly at the Heartless just as it reached the body and held the arrow high to pierce the person.

Then, it fell forward, screeching; an arrow was protruding from its chest. With its strength quickly fleeting, it tried to stab the person but couldn't even manage to lift the arrow. It shot a look at the human who had killed it, and then died in a poof of smoke.

Fox ran to it as fast as she could, glanced at the person, then turned to leave.

She froze in her tracks and then turned back around slowly.

The person was a boy, probably the same age as Fox. He was unconscious, and barely breathing. Fox dropped to her knees and looked at him closer; he was the most beautiful person she had ever seen in her entire life. He was so striking, and Fox had never felt like this before. Her heart felt like it would jump out of her chest.

She shook her head, trying to clear herself of the feeling. "If this is love, then why do I feel like this? I don't even know him," she growled.

She looked at him some more; he was wearing a simple black vest with a white jacket over it. It had checkerboard stripes running from the top of his shoulder, across his chest, and to the other shoulder. He had white pants that were black at the top; the white was slightly dirtied from being on the ground. His hair was as blond as the sun and sticking out at crazy angles, and he had a checkerboard wristband to match his jacket. He also wore black sneakers, and two black and white rings on his left hand.

Fox couldn't get over the feeling. She didn't understand it, but she kind of liked it. She wanted to talk to this boy and get to know him better.

She glanced around; now was definitely not the time to exchange pleasantries; she could sense Heartless crawling around them in the dark, hungry for two clean hearts.

Fox put her bow on her arm, and lifted pushed the boy up into a sitting position. She grunted and breathed hard, but eventually got him up onto her back. She shifted him a bit, and held onto his arm so she wouldn't drop him. She panted and took of as fast as she could with this new burden on her back to her shack.

She got to the edge of the city, and climbed up the trail to her shack; almost dropping the boy a few times in the process.

She got to the clearing, and took a small break, breathing heavily and wiping off her forehead. He wasn't that heavy; its just that after fighting the Heartless she just defeated, she was kind of tired.

Once her breathing slowed a bit, she continued on to her shack. The boy's head was on her shoulder, and she could feel his slight breathing on her neck.

She went over the bridge and into her shack, gently putting the boy down onto the bed. She put her blanket over him, and then brushed his hair out of his eyes, slightly twirling it around her fingers. His hair had a beautiful texture, and was really soft.

She took her hand back quickly, and said, "No, what am I doing?" she whispered into the air.

She sighed and sunk into the chair right in back of her and looked at the boy.

With the moonlight shining in through the doorway and onto his bright blond hair, he looked like an angel.

How did he get here? He certainly didn't look like the townsfolk; He was too pale and beautiful for that. Was he with the Heartless? No, he couldn't have been with them because that one Shadow tried to stab him with her Fire Arrows.

Well then… who was he?

Fox pondered whom he could be when her thoughts drifted off to the Heartless. The boy didn't know how close to death he had come earlier, what with the Heartless that had taken her arrows.

Fox jumped up quickly, and gasped. "My Fire Arrows!" she ran out of the shack, remembering that she has left them where she found the boy after the Heartless dropped the two.

She ran down the trail and through the city as fast as she could; if another Heartless picked up the arrows, then she would be in trouble. She rounded the alleyway that she had been in and nocked an arrow quickly, just in case. She looked around the empty area, and ran over to where she had found the boy. Luckily, both of the red-hearted arrows were still there. She sighed with relief and picked them up. She straightened up, two arrows in hand, when she saw something glint on the ground; it was a small necklace. It had what looked like a ninja shuriken as the pendant on a chain with a broken link.

Fox decided that it was the boy's and picked it up, pocketing it. Looking up at the sky, she decided that she still had time to hunt the Heartless before sunrise. She got her bow ready, and walked down the alleyways carefully, looking for more Heartless.


	2. The Trouble with Shadows

Roxas woke up in a strange bed, and looked around. It was light outside, but he didn't know where he was. He clutched at his necklace to calm himself, and it wasn't there. He patted the front of his shirt, looking for it. It was gone!

He started to panic, and looked over to the side; there was a girl lying on the ground, asleep.

He blinked a few times and stopped moving. This girl astounded him. She… she was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. He gaped slightly, looking at her skinny frame, her red hair, and her face, calm with sleep. She breathed slowly in and out, and Roxas wanted to talk to her. Maybe she knew where he was.

This thought made him blush, because she was so pretty. He was afraid to talk to her, and so he sit up carefully.

"Ow!" he said, knocking his head against a shelf right above him, and knocking a bowl off of it to clatter on the ground. He rubbed his head and squinted his eyes through the pain.

Then, the girl sat up.

Fox looked around sleepily because a noise had woken her up. She looked up to her bed, wondering why she was sleeping on the floor. She saw the boy and noted that he was awake, staring at her with wide eyes and a hand clutched to his head. Then, she remembered last night.

"Oh you're awake!" she said quickly, slurring her words slightly. She blinked a few times, looking into his bright, icy blue eyes. He was even more beautiful awake.

He blinked back at her and rubbed his head slightly. "I'm sorry I woke you up. I… I really didn't mean to," he said quietly, picking up the bowl and putting it back on the shelf.

Fox shook her head and cleared her throat. "Oh, it's… um it's ok." She coughed and rubbed the back of her neck, pulling her legs up and wrapping her arms around her knees.

She really wasn't used to talking to people that much. Especially people as attractive as this boy here.

He swallowed, and then he said, "So… uh. Where- where am I?"

Fox blinked. "Oh, I'm sorry! You're in my shack. I found you out in the city, its called Hokkaido, and…" she wondered if he knew anything about the Heartless.

She cocked her head to the side. "Do you know anything about the Heartless?"

The boy stiffened when she asked it, and he said, "Yeah. I… I do."

Fox pursed her lips. "Uh, yeah. They kinda tried to kill you yesterday, and so I saved you and brought you back here." She smiled slightly at him.

He looked back at her. Beautiful, _and_ she saved him? _She must be an Angel_, he decided. He swallowed, blushing slightly at her. "So, my name's Roxas. What's yours?"

Fox smiled at him, and said, "You can call me Fox." She ran her fingers along her whisker shaped scars on her face, and said, "I live in this town. I got these scars from the Heartless, and the townsfolk just call me Fox."

Roxas nodded. "That's… uh that's really neat." He looked slightly uncomfortable.

Fox pursed her lips again, and said, "Do… you know where you came from?'

Roxas shrugged, relaxing slightly. "I really don't know. I can't remember anything at all. I can remember the Heartless, though… and I know who I am. That's a start, I guess." He smiled at her, and she just about fainted; that was the most beautiful smile she had ever seen.

She nodded awkwardly and gulped. "Well, I guess that we can—oh!" she reached into her pocket and brought out the shuriken necklace. "I didn't know if this was yours or not, but I found it yesterday. If it isn't yours, I'm keeping it."

Roxas gaped at it and took it from her. "Oh man! Thank you so much! I- I was looking for this! Thanks!" He gave her another beautiful smile that knocked the breath out of her and put it back on.

He tilted his head down slightly to get a better reach to put it back on, fumbling with the clasp. Fox loved the way his hair fell slightly over his eyes. He got the clasp on, and tugged at it slightly to make sure it would stay.

"Oh, er, you are welcome. One of the links was broken, and I fixed it last night, by the way."

Roxas smiled down at the necklace on his chest. "Thanks. I don't know what I would have done if you didn't find it for me."

He looked up at her, and gaped slightly. She looked so beautiful in the sunlight. Fox looked at him, and she thought he was the most striking thing in the world.

They both stared at each other for a moment, and then blushed, noticing that they were staring. Fox coughed and smiled slightly. "Well, uh, not to be rude or anything, but I am really, really tired. I stay up at night to hunt the Heartless and sleep during the day. I have some money, so you can go out into the city. I'll show you the way and then I'm going to get back to sleep." She stood up and reached up to the top of the shelf that was above Roxas.

Roxas gulped, noticing how near she was to him. He tried to breathe normally, and then she took down a small box from off of the shelf. She dropped a few coins in his lap and put the box back. "That should be enough for something to eat and a souvenir, probably. Come on, I'll show you how to get there."

She walked out of the small shack, and Roxas hopped up and off of the bed to follow her, putting the coins in his pocket.

He gawked at the sight that greeted him; it was so beautiful outside. There was a small creek and the sun shining down made everything look beautiful.

Fox hopped over the creek, and Roxas followed, staring at her. When the sun hit her hair, it shimmered and glowed so brilliantly. He walked on, watching her, and then slipped and stepped in the water. "Crap," he muttered, and hopped over it, shaking his feet dry. He ran to catch up with Fox and then followed her through the trees and closer to the city.

They got out, and stopped at a little ledge. He could see Hokkaido from there; it wasn't that big, but wasn't that small either. He could see a bunch of people walking around.

Fox pointed down to the city. "There's Hokkaido. This trail will bring you right back up to my shack. Try to be back before sunset, because that's when the Heartless get out. Well, I'll… I'll see you later. Have fun, and be careful." She smiled and turned to leave. She stopped and turned around quickly. "Oh, yeah, be careful with the townsfolk. They aren't that friendly and they try to gyp you. Watch your footing, alright?" She chanced a wink at him, and then she was gone, back into the forest probably.

Roxas took a breath, and tried to walk down the trail carefully, but thoughts of Fox were running rampant through his head. He tripped over a root, but righted himself and blushed, catching himself thinking about her. "She could never like me," he said to himself sadly, as he walked on to the city, the sun beaming down at him.


	3. So Much for Fun

Roxas sauntered through the town, hands in pockets. He glanced at the stalls as he passed, the vendors yelling from all over to get passersby to buy their merchandise. Roxas kept walking, not interested in the jewelry, fish, or supplies they had to offer. He was just browsing.

He found an old lady's table, and she was selling flowers. She grinned a toothy grin at him, and said, "Hey there, young man. You want to buy flower for your sweetie, hmm?" She motioned to a rose. "How about rose? It is the sign of love."

Roxas smiled at the rose; it was pretty and he wanted to get it for Fox.

He pulled the coins out of his pocket, and glanced up. "How much?"

The lady chuckled, and said, "For you? 5 Denari."

Roxas looked at the coins and bit his lip; he didn't know what the heck each one was worth.

The woman chuckled and said, "It's the small silver one."

Roxas picked out a small silver one and handed it to her, smiling. "Thank you." He said, and picked up the rose. She chuckled at him again, and put the coin away. "No, thank you."

Roxas picked up the rose and pocketed it. It was a perfect gift for Fox; he pictured her wearing it behind her ear, and smiling at him. He grinned at his vision, and then put his hands in his pockets again.

Just then, his stomach growled. He scrunched his mouth to the side in hunger and then looked around for the nearest restaurant.

There was one just about in front of him, and so he smiled hungrily at it. It would be good to get a little bit of food in him.

He walked into the restaurant and looked around; it _looked_ fairly average, so he probably wouldn't have to pay too much. He walked in and took a seat.

A waiter came up to him and asked him for his drink and food orders.

Roxas looked up at the kitchen, and then said, "I'd like a water, an apple, some eggs and a side of toast," he said, smiling and thinking how good it would all taste.

The waiter wrote it down and Roxas waited for the waiter to come back with his order. He aimlessly scratched at the table and looked around. So far, he thought Hokkaido was a pretty nice town.

Suddenly, he got a bad feeling. He didn't know why, but he felt that something bad was going to happen. He stiffened and looked around slowly. The only person he could see was the waiter, coming to him with his food. He relaxed and forgot the feeling immediately as the smell of the cooked food wafted over him. There was quite a lot, and even though Roxas was very hungry, he still asked the waiter for a doggy bag.

The waiter nodded and left Roxas to eat in peace. He licked his lips, and dug into the eggs. He took a bite of one of the pieces of bread, and then washed it down with the water.

He sighed happily, the feeling of hunger slowly receding. He finished off the last of the piece of bread, and then ate more eggs.

The waiter came back with his bill and a box. Roxas was already quite full, even though he still had the whole apple, about half the eggs, and two pieces of toast left. He put it all in the box and closed the lid before checking his bill.

"300 Denari?" he exclaimed. That was insane! The rose was only 5 Denari. He guessed that the water would be about 20, and so was the apple. The eggs and toast would be about 40 each. Altogether, it would be about 150 Denari total, plus tax. This was double what it should be! He checked the order again; it was his bill; it wasn't a messed up order. He checked his money, and he only had 180 Denari left.

"Damn it," he muttered. He took a breath, swallowed, and prepared for what he was about to do. He placed the bill on the table, and put 120 Denari on top, picking up his box and walking hastily away from the table.

He glanced over his shoulder, and saw the waiter pick up the money and count it, looking at the bill. "Hey!" he said, looking at Roxas. "You didn't pay in full! Get back here!"

Then, Roxas took off as fast as his legs would take him out the restaurant. The waiter chased after him.

Roxas ran and ran, panting slightly and carrying the food box under his arm. The waiter was gaining on him quickly; he was much older than Roxas.

Roxas glanced around quickly, and turned down an alley. He looked side to side, and saw a bunch of boxes. He leaped and hid behind one, just as the waiter ran past his hiding place. Roxas chanced a look out, and saw the waiter rush down one of the alleyways.

Roxas took a breath and sighed. _So much for a fun and relaxing day_, he thought to himself.

He pursed his lips, and told himself that no matter what, he could not tell Fox about what had just happened. He looked over, and noticed that this place he was hiding in felt very familiar. He squinted around and stood up; he had never been here… but why did it feel so recognizable? Then, he tripped over something; it was a sword. Suddenly, some of his memories came flooding back.

This was his sword; he had dropped it when he came to this town. He had been transported here somehow, and then something had hit him on the head and knocked him out. He picked up the sword; it was fragile looking but in fact very durable and easy to wield. It was called the Oathkeeper, and Roxas smiled at it, happy at having been reunited with his weapon. He strapped it to his back so he wouldn't have to carry it, and then walked out of his hiding place.

Roxas looked up at the sky, and noticed it was getting slightly darker; he would have to get back to Fox's shack very soon.

He stuffed his hands in his pockets, and held the food box under his arm; his right hand brushed the rose in his pocket. He had forgotten about that in the midst of everything; he'd have to remember to give it to Fox.

He got to the edge of the city, and looked up. He found the trail quickly and climbed up it. Before going into the woods, he looked back at Hokkaido. It was actually quite nice here; except for the people. Fox was right about them. He had to be careful next time.

He walked on through the woods and came out at the clearing. Fox was sleeping on the grass, snoring slightly. She had a rock as a pillow, and was sleeping on her side.

Roxas felt a smile grow on his face as he watched her sleep. She was so pretty… He took off his jacket and laid it on her, careful not to wake her.

Then, he decided that since she had helped him, he wanted to do something for her that would impress her. He looked around and saw the shack. He walked inside and looked around; he said to himself, "I guess Fox won't mind if I cleaned up this place up a bit." He said into the shack.

It really was quite messy; there were dirty dishes on some shelves, the ground was dusty and had many pebbles on it, and the bed looked like it hadn't been made in years.

Roxas decided to start with the dishes. He grabbed all of them, stacking them on one another. He carried them outside carefully and put them down by the creek. He sat Indian style, and got to work cleaning them. He hummed a tuneless song while he worked.

It didn't take even 5 minutes before he had them all clean and dried.

He stacked them all on top of each other, sparkling clean. He carried them inside, and laid them all on a shelf. He smiled at the clean dishes; he was amazed that he could even clean at all.

He looked around and decided that he should sweep the ground first.

He spotted a very old broom covered in cobwebs sitting against the wall in the corner. He wrinkled his nose and brushed them away before grabbing the broom and sweeping out all the dirt, leaves, dust, and grime.

It wasn't long before the whole shack was full of the stifling dust. Roxas coughed and threw open the window to air out the shack some more.

He finished sweeping, and then sat in the sun a bit and washed off his face and hands in the creek.

He glanced up at Fox; she was still sleeping and was slightly smiling in her sleep, holding the jacket's arm against her chest like a teddy bear. Roxas smiled and then stood up, getting back to work.

He went back inside, and took the sheets off the bed. He brought them outside, found which way downwind was, and shook them out; careful not to get any dirt anywhere near Fox.

After cleaning both the top and bottom sheets out, he went back inside and put the sheets back on, tucking them in. He smiled at his work, very happy with what he had done. He looked around and decided he could clean her bow. He wondered if she would show him how to use it sometime. He took it off of a peg on the wall and grabbed a rag from inside the shack. He took them down to the creek and gently washed it, taking the dust off of it, too.

After it was cleaned and dried and sparkling like the dishes, he went back inside and put it back on the wall. Roxas looked around at the shack; it looked much better, being clean like this. There were no more cobwebs; nothing was dusty, dishes stacked neatly on the shelf… He hoped that Fox would love it and thank him for it; he loved talking to her and hearing her voice. To him, it was the voice of an angel.

His stomach grumbled again, and he frowned at it. It had only been an hour or two and he was already hungry again! He sighed and grabbed the food box.

Suddenly, he had a perfect idea: He could make the food for him and Fox!

He looked around quickly, and found some flint in a box under Fox's bed. He took it outside and gathered some tinder. He made a small fire, and put the eggs and apple on top of a rock over the fire to warm them up, gently pushing them around with a stick.


	4. Never Too Careful with Shadows

Fox smelled something delightful. She yawned, and felt something warm on her back. She thought it was her blanket, and pulled it closer.

It wasn't her blanket, though. It was warmer, finer, and smelled much better. It smelled like… cologne.

Her eyes shot open and she looked at her 'blanket'; it was Roxas's jacket. She gaped at it and then her gape turned into a smile.

"Hey, you are up! I… I uh got some dinner ready," mumbled Roxas.

Fox turned her head up and saw Roxas sitting behind a fire. She sat up quickly and held the jacket to herself.

"Oh, er, uh, hi. Um, thanks…" she stuttered, holding up the jacket slightly, and walking over to him.

He looked down at the food and smiled. "Yeah, don't mention it."

Fox blushed, and reluctantly handed it back to him; she didn't want to give it up.

She smelled the wonderful smell again, and noticed it was food. She sat down next to him as he put his jacket back on. "What's all this?" asked Fox, sniffing the aroma.

Roxas smiled slightly, watching the food. "Oh, I… had some… leftovers from lunch today and… thought you might want some. Looks about ready, you woke up just in time." He smiled his angelic smile at her and her breath caught in her throat. She made a gurgling noise, and then swallowed.

Roxas laughed slightly. "I'll get the plates."

Fox took a breath and shook her head. "No, they are all dirty."

Roxas stood up after blowing out the fire and winked at her. "Mm, you'll see." He walked off into the shack, and Fox was glad he did. Her face turned quite a few different shades of red and then smiled to herself. He was so perfect.

He came back, carrying two clean plates. "I kinda cleaned them while you were sleeping." He smiled guiltily at her and sat back down, putting half the eggs on his plate and half on hers.

She gaped at him. "You cleaned them for me? But you didn't have to! And you are cooking me dinner. I bet you did a great job. Wow, I'm a lucky girl. Is… Is there any way I can pay you back?" She smiled and took her plate from him.

He flushed slightly at her smile and the compliment. "Heh, no worries. You already did; you saved me from the Heartless and let me stay here. Thanks." He smiled and ate his food, and so did Fox.

The eggs were so good! The texture was perfect, and the toast was nice and warm; it was crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. The warm apple had a different taste to it; it tasted like an apple pie, really. Fox smiled and ate the food happily. It was really, really good.

"Thanks, Roxas," she said again, and smiled at him.

He looked up and smiled back. "Sure thing."

They stared at each other and then both looked away, afraid that their faces would give away their hidden feelings.

Fox thought to herself, _he doesn't like me the way I like him, I'm sure of it. Why would he like me?_ And Roxas to himself, s_he doesn't like me. I'm probably just a nuisance to her._

They sat there awkwardly, dinners finished. Fox coughed, and looked over at Roxas; there was something different about him this time.

"Roxas? Did you have that sword earlier?" she asked him, squinting at the Oathkeeper on his back.

He turned his head and looked at it. "No, I didn't. I found it in the city, and remembered that it was mine. Its funny; I can only remember some things when I'm near familiar objects."

Fox nodded slowly, and then took his plate. "I'll get these since you cooked and cleaned them earlier. Hey, how about to pay you back, we can do some training before we go hunt the Heartless tonight?" She put them in the creek and let the cool water wash over them, cleaning them.

Roxas blinked. "Hunt the Heartless? Why?"

Fox smiled. "Someone has to rid this town of them. I'm the only one who can."

Roxas smiled. "That would be awesome! I'd love to train. I can remember quite a lot about fighting, so that's good."

Fox nodded and took out the plates, shaking them off. "Mmhmm." She put the plates back into her shack, and noticed it was very clean in her shack. She stuck her head out the door at Roxas. "Did you clean it in here?" she asked.

He turned around and smiled at her. "Yup." She smiled back, and took her bow off the wall.

This Roxas was really something.

She wiped the smile off her face, thinking to herself that he could never fall for someone like her. She sighed and walked outside. Roxas was already on the other side of the creek in the big clearing for more room. Fox nodded and ran over to him. "Good, this is where I practice all the time. Would you mind showing me some stuff you can do?"

Roxas smiled and leaned the sword on his shoulder. "Sure! What's my target?" he asked, looking around.

Fox looked around, too, and then sat on a boulder and pointed to a dead tree. "See that dead maple? Go knock off a branch."

Roxas nodded once curtly and then muttered, "I'll do better than that," before running off at it. He ran up to it and shouted, slicing off a branch as easily as a hot knife through butter. He whipped around and sliced another branch off. He did a back flip, putting a huge amount of distance between him and the tree, and then ran at it, yelling. It seemed like it happened in slow motion: he ran at it, shouting, and sliced at the tree as hard as he possibly could, using both hands. It hit the tree, and instead of rebounding, it sliced completely through the tree. He stopped his sword in mid air and held it there; he watched the top of the tree fall over with a dull crash, and then looked over at Fox over the top of his arm.

"How was that?"

Fox could do nothing but gape and blink for a little while. Then, she burst into applause, and Roxas relaxed and ran over to her. "Haha, glad you liked it!" He pushed her over lightly, and sat on the boulder with her.

She _would_ have started blushing because their sides were touching and they were seated so close to each other, but she was so absorbed in what had just happened that she was too stunned to notice. "That… that was … that was _amazing_, Roxas! How'd you do that? You must've had tons of training."

Roxas smiled. "Haha, thanks! I just used what my teacher taught me. I can't really remember who he or she was or when I was taught, but… I remember all my abilities. I guess that that's what it really comes down to, what you need to know." Fox smiled back, noticing they were sitting very close to each other for the first time. Their heads were only about a foot apart, and Fox stared into his hard icy blue eyes, and he into her dark brown ones. They leaned a bit closer, and then a bird took off out of a tree next to them, startling them.

Fox blushed and stood up quickly, and so did Roxas. "Oh! Well, uh, we should probably get going to hunt the Heartless, now," mumbled Fox.

Roxas nodded and looked down, trying to hide his face. "Yeah, I think I'm ready," he muttered.

Fox ran into her shack and slung her quiver over her back before adding her bow. She closed her window, because she didn't want it open while she was out hunting. She walked out, and Roxas had his sword strapped to his back again, just like earlier.

She nodded at him and they began their journey to Hokkaido. Fox looked up at the sky; they were a bit earlier than what she usually left at, but that was okay. She voiced her opinions aloud.

"Hey, Roxas, we have to be careful today because there are going to be some townspeople out. It's kinda early, but it's never too early for the Heartless."

Roxas nodded, happy to be on a different subject that took his mind from just a few minutes earlier. "Alright. Are we splitting up or staying together to get them?" They slid down the trail on their feet and got to the bottom safely.

Fox looked around. "Split up is a good idea, to get more of them quicker. Its usually only Shadows here, sometimes there are Soldiers and maybe a Nocturne or Rhapsody here or there. They won't be hard, just bothersome."

Roxas nodded and looked around as they walked; the vendors were just starting to close up shop. "Alright, sounds easy enough. When should we meet up?"

Fox pondered that and shifted her bow on her arm. "Huh. Lets see… since you probably don't stay up late, and it takes me about six hours until I'm tired, we'll go for three because we are splitting up. We'll probably run into each other a bit during the night, so I'll just tell you when we can quit."

She stopped at an intersection. "Well, this looks like where I start. You go to the left, and I'll take to the right. Be careful not to let anyone see you, and don't let the Heartless hurt you."

Roxas smiled smugly and puffed his chest out. "You think one of those little Heartless guys can beat me?"

Fox rolled her eyes and pushed his chest back in with a finger, deflating him. "Don't let your ego get the best of you, Roxas. Keep an eye on them because they'll be keeping an eye on you. Well, lets hope today goes alright." Fox saluted him with two fingers, and faded back into the darkness.

Roxas smiled in the direction she took off at, and then walked into the darkness himself.

Fox padded along, smiling from ear to ear. Roxas was the best-- no, _only_ company she had ever had for this long. He was a great companion, and she enjoyed his company. Plus, he was so darn adorable.

She shook her head of any fantasies, and glanced around; she was in the Heartless territory, now. She had to be stealthy, sly, and silent; like a Fox. She ran a finger down one of her scars and smiled grimly. She nocked an arrow quickly, taking note she only had a few arrows left.

She'd make more tomorrow.

She snuck down the alleyway, looking for any movement and listening to any sound she could hear. She saw something dart out at the intersection in front of her, and she quickly put her back to the wall and looked over the trashcans slowly. She looked from side to side, looking for what she had just seen. Then, in the corner, she saw a small black shape; it had to be a Heartless.

She stalked it slowly and quietly, eyes riveted on her target. She got close enough, and it turned two bright yellow eyes upon Fox; it was a shadow. Fox bared her teeth at it as it leapt up and ran at her.

She lifted her bow to have the arrowhead pointing directly at the shadow that was running straight for her. She closed one eye, aiming at the Heartless. It leaped at her, and she let loose her arrow. It knocked the Heartless back from its leap to land in a trashcan with a very loud _CLANG_. She quickly hid behind a few boxes, heart pounding, as someone walked into the alley trying to figure out what the noise was. Luckily, they couldn't see Fox because she was hiding.

The person left, and just as they did, Fox heard the arrow clink slightly in the trashcan; she knew that meant the Heartless was dead. She jumped up and took out the arrow quickly, putting it in a special holder on her quiver made just for the used arrows. She nocked another arrow as quickly as she could, and stood still, trying to find her next target.

Suddenly, another shadow jumped from off of the roof and onto her back. "Ah!" she yelped, accidentally loosing her arrow into the dark sky. "Get off me!" she growled at it, and threw herself back-first at the wall. She collided with it, the shadow taking the force of the bow. It let out a shriek and let go, falling to the ground.

In one fluid movement, Fox took out an arrow, nocked it, turned to face the Heartless and loosed the arrow. It hit it right in the middle of its body, pinning it to the wall. It growled and howled, and scraped its claws along the ground in hatred towards Fox.

She glared at it and then it disappeared in a puff of smoke. She grabbed the arrow and added it to the other used one on her quiver.

She got another arrow ready quickly and looked around; she couldn't hear anything this time, so she walked off and turned the corner carefully, looking for her arrow she accidentally loosed and watching out for any more Heartless.

Roxas plodded along, looking for a Heartless of his own. He walked out into an intersection, and looked all around; Fox was so much more used to this, and he didn't really know what to look for. He relaxed his guard a bit and walked down another alley, thinking of Fox. "She is so beautiful… how she even puts up with such a normal guy as me is beyond me," Roxas said out loud, frowning slightly.

Absorbed in his thoughts, he didn't see the small shadow rise up from the dark as he passed a particularly shadowy area.

He walked on, thinking about Fox as it watched him with two beady yellow eyes. It had spotted a perfect heart, and was not going to let it run away. It stalked him quietly, hiding in the shadows when it could. It ran up to him, and then leaped, landing on his back.

Roxas yelped and ran around, not knowing what hit him. He chanced a glance over his back, and saw a pair of two bright yellow eyes looking right into his.

"Ah!" he yelped, grabbing the shadow by its two antennae and flinging it away from him. It went flying through the air and hit a wall, sliding down to the bottom. It righted itself quickly, and hissed at him.

Roxas got in an offensive stance, and readied for it as it rushed at him. It leaped at him, and he slashed at it in mid-air. It screeched as the Oathkeeper sliced right through its small body and it disappeared in a small puff of smoke.

Roxas panted and stared at the place where it just was a moment ago. "Well… one down," he breathed, and gathered himself, trying to slow his breathing to a normal level.

It had snuck up on him and scared him; he wouldn't let it happen again. This time, he paced down the alley with a purpose, his sneakers making slight squeaks as he walked. Then, he saw something dark, and stalked it slowly.

Fox paced along, too, in a different alleyway. She had attacked and defeated two Heartless and now she was stalking down this new alleyway.

She heard something somewhere near her, and she stopped and waited; but the sound stopped too. She paced forward a bit, and rounded the corner; she couldn't see at all, because the light that was usually at this corner was out. The sky was already pitch black; the moon was only half-full, so it wasn't that bright out.

She felt her heart rate speed up, as she looked around slowly. She took one step quietly, and then another… she stopped and tried to take slow breaths to make herself even quieter. Then, something grasped her shoulder. She whipped around, and screamed.

Roxas hopped back a pace, and shook his hands. "Sorry, sorry! It's just me!"

Fox put her hand to her chest and panted. "Roxas! You nearly gave me a heart attack!" she whispered angrily at him.

He looked like pure innocence then, and frowned. "I'm sorry," he mumbled, and looked down.

Fox's anger immediately left her as she saw his bright blonde hair glint in what light there was. For a moment, she felt like she wanted to lean down and kiss the small area where his hair parted.

She shook her head quickly and blushed. "No, its alright," she whispered. "Lets get back to work. We have maybe thirty minutes or so left. I'll come find you in a bit."

Roxas jerked his head back up and smiled. "Alright. Good luck!" He took off at a quiet run towards the end of the alley, his blade held loosely at his side. He rounded the corner and then he was gone.

Fox sighed happily. He was the perfect match for Fox. She blinked and then slapped her face. "Ow!" She rubbed it, and then whispered to herself, "No, why would he like me? He doesn't, and I just have to get used to it."

She sighed, and then walked in the direction away from Roxas, readying a new arrow.

Roxas ran around the corner and then gasped; there was a Soldier right in front of him. He didn't have time to stop, so he just sliced his sword through the unsuspecting Heartless, and it disappeared in a poof of smoke.

Roxas ran on, turning to salute the smoke with a smug smile while doing so.

He turned back to face the front, but did so too late and tripped over a bunch of boxes and fell headfirst into an empty trashcan. He squirmed around and the trashcan fell over, clanging on the ground. He quickly crawled out of it and brushed himself off, blushing a deep red. "Good thing Fox didn't see me," he muttered, and ran away from there quickly.

Fox put away her freshly used arrow; she just defeated two Shadows and a Soldier in the time that she had talked to Roxas. She grabbed another arrow, but grasped thin air; she had no arrows left. She blinked, and put her bow on her shoulder and took out a small dagger that was in her pocket, just in case.

When out in the city at night, you definitely needed some protection.

She walked on, and decided it was time to go back. She looked around, and listened; she would be able to find Roxas easily, especially because he didn't know the town like Fox did.

She ran off, and looked around; she successfully found Roxas in the alley next to her, taking on a small Shadow. She watched him and he didn't know she was there; he quickly killed it, and Fox said, "Good job. Lets go back now."

He jumped, startled, and turned around quickly. "Oh, Fox, its just you. Alright, I'm ready."

Roxas began to put his sword back onto his back, but then Fox said, "No, keep that out. I ran out of arrows and if we run into a Heartless, I will be about as much use as a paper towel poncho in a hurricane. Come on." She walked off and Roxas followed her.


	5. Making the Weapon

They made it back to the shack safely, with no more Heartless incidents. Roxas flopped down on the grass, his hands behind his head as a pillow.

"Aw, man. I'm pooped already."

Fox smiled. "This would be when I would just be getting started. You can go to sleep, I need to make more arrows."

Roxas sat up quickly, immediately interested. "Can I watch?"

Fox laughed and nodded. "Sure, why not? Its kinda boring, for me at least."

She walked into her shack, and came out with a huge handful of used arrows in one hand and a cluster of normal everyday arrows in the other; she laid them on the ground apart from each other.

She added the arrows she had on her quiver to her pile of used arrows. "Those are all of the ones that I used on Heartless already. To make a new one, I have to put six in a circle, like this."

She counted out six, and then put them in a circle. One arrowhead of one used arrow was laid on the feathers of the next, pointing in a clockwise direction.

She pointed to the normal arrows. "These are just normal arrows. They are made of crow's feathers on the tail, and just a stone arrowhead on top. If I used these on the Heartless, nothing would happen at all. See, there is no blue heart on it." She picked one up and twirled it between her thumb and index finger, showing all of the sides of the arrow to Roxas. Then, she put it in the center, pointing to the top of the circle. "Points to the top… now I turn it like a lock, until I find the right combination."

She slowly turned it clockwise, watching it carefully. She sat bent over it, face close to the arrow. Once it pointed to the bottom, she stopped pushing it and pointed to the bottom near the feathers. "Look. See, a heart appeared."

Roxas leaned in and saw it; there was a faint swirled heart on it. He leaned back, and then she began pushing it back in a counterclockwise direction, watching it intently again. She turned and turned and turned; it went past the beginning and then once it had traveled a little farther, the whole arrow started to glow.

Roxas gaped a bit, and watched, engrossed.

Once more, Fox twisted it in a clockwise direction. This time, once it reached a position pointing to the right, a brilliant burst of blue appeared, and slowly faded away, leaving the faint heart filled with the brilliant blue. Also, instead of just one arrow, two were left behind with the blue heart on them. She smiled, and picked them up quickly. "Okay, now I have to burn this circle and fast." She took out some flint, and set fire to the used arrow circle.

Roxas watched the arrows, the fire reflected in his shining eyes. "Why?" he asked, not looking away.

Fox shrugged and examined her two new arrows. "If I don't, a Heartless will immediately come out of the circle, twice as bad as all the ones I killed with the arrows." She smiled over at him, and saw him watching the flames, his eyelids drooping slightly.

"Haha, well, I'm going to stay up and make some more arrows; I'm going to need a bunch. You can go to bed now, Roxas."

The flames died down, and then all that was left was the charred remains. Roxas nodded and stood up sleepily. "Yeah… I think I will. 'Night." He walked away into the shack.

"Goodnight!" said Fox, as she set up another circle of used arrows to make more clean ones. She bit her lip and watched him walk into the shack to go to sleep.

Man, why was he just so attractive? He was even cuter when he was sleepy.

Fox got back to work, making enough arrows to last her about a week, and then finally went to sleep.


	6. The Festival of the Flower

Fox was the first one to wake up the next day. Surprisingly, she wasn't tired at all, and it was already light out.

Roxas was sleeping on her bed on his stomach. One arm was hanging over the bed, and he was snoring.

Fox sat up and giggled; he was so cute. She looked up at her now full quiver of arrows; she put the ones she couldn't fit in there under her bed in a box.

She stretched and spread her legs out. It was easier sleeping last night because the floor wasn't full of pebbles, leaves, and dust, thanks to Roxas. She smiled and leaned against the wall, taking out some supplies from under her bed quietly. She wanted to do something productive while waiting for Roxas to wake up.

She took out a half-finished arrow; it had the head on but no tail. Fox decided putting the feathers on would be quieter than making a new arrowhead, so she pulled out a leather string and grabbed three of the proper length feathers. She inspected them, flicked a grain of dirt off one, and then tied them to the back end after cutting small holes for them to go into with her dagger.

She wished that she could find a way to make her dagger work against the Heartless, but she didn't know how. She tried doing she same thing that she did with her arrows once, but it only made it get sharper. It's a good thing, because it would never grow dull, but it's still not any protection against the Heartless, so she just used it for making arrows and simple protection among other things. She cut the string after tying it in a knot, and then looked at her arrow; it looked quite nice. It would work well.

Fox put it under the bed, and put her supplies away. She jumped and almost hit her head on the bed when she heard a voice:

"Hiya, Fox! I hope you don't mind. I was watching you make your arrow." It was Roxas, and he was awake; he was leaning with his head on his hand, watching Fox.

She smiled up at him. "Morning! And no, it's all good."

He smiled. "I think we did a good job yesterday. I feel really happy today."

Roxas sat up, and Fox laughed. "You know what? Me too. I feel really good right now." She smiled at him, and then stared; the sun was shining through the window and through his bright blonde hair, making it appear even brighter. He had a small smile on his face, and was looking more adorable than ever.

Roxas was staring at Fox, too; the sunlight that was coming in through the doorway caught on _her_ hair and made it shimmer; her smile added to her beauty. Roxas almost couldn't stand it, how pretty she was. How he wished he could tell her how he felt for her; but he couldn't. He was afraid that she would never like him back.

Fox stood up. "Well, we have a while before night. There's a festival going on in the town, today. Want to go?" She smiled and he nodded.

"Yeah!" he said, standing up and running outside. He leaped over the brook and ran around in the grass, laughing; Fox watched him from the doorway. He looked like an innocent little child: the sun catching his hair and making it bright, his pure smile, and his happy way of running. She smiled and shook her head before turning back to the shack.

She grabbed her box of money and took out about 5k Denari, pocketing it quickly. That would be enough for the day, if they were going to buy food and souvenirs; they might buy some supplies too. She checked her box of Denari before she put it away; she had about 1k left. She'd have to go and earn more soon.

She grabbed her bow and her quiver, stood still, and then put them back. It was a festival; they didn't need weapons. She looked over, and saw Roxas's Oathkeeper on the bed. She picked it up and noted how it weighed; for such a fragile looking weapon, it was actually quite heavy.

Fox put the sword back down and then walked outside and found Roxas lying on the ground, smiling up at the sky with his eyes closed. She snuck over to him, and screamed, "Roxas!"

He sat up quickly and eyes shot open. "Hey!" he yelped, and laughed, standing up.

She smiled at him and put her hands on her hips. "Come on, silly. The Festival of the Flower is gonna begin."

Roxas wrinkled his nose. "Huh, how come it can't be more manly? Like… the Festival of the Sword, or… the Festival of Lightning? Ooh, that one sounds neat to me." They walked to the city, talking about it.

Fox laughed. "Haha! Festival of Lightning, huh? Well, go make it then."

"I will! And it can only happen on a day of a storm. It will be awesome!"

"And what will the festival be about, hmm?"

Roxas blinked. "Er… lightning, of course! Because… it's so… powerful."

"Haha! Well, you work on that. The Festival of the Flower is here for today, though."

That jogged something in Roxas's mind. "Oh!" he said, and dug his hands in his pockets.

Fox stopped walking at a vendor's stall and looked at Roxas. "What?"

He pulled a withered pink rose out of his pocket, and frowned. "No…" he said quietly. He looked up at Fox with sad eyes. "This was supposed to be for you. I'm really sorry, I forgot," he murmured, and handed it to her.

She took it and looked at the pitiful thing; a few of the petals had fallen off, and the whole thing was quite squished. She laughed, and put it behind her ear anyways. "It's the thought that counts, right?"

Roxas looked up at her and saw the flower behind her ear. He smiled. "Wait here." And ran off and took off down an alleyway.

Fox blinked and then crossed her arms. "Okay." She leaned against the wall and waited for him to come back, watching all the townsfolk who passed. All were wearing floral patterns for the Festival, and the town smelled quite nice for a change.

She smiled as Roxas came running back, his hands clasped around something.

He stopped in front of her, out of breath. "Oh… kay… Now." He cleared his throat and breathed normally. "Woo! All right. Here, close your eyes."

She did as he said, and closed her eyes. She felt him take the old flower out from behind her ear, and slip something in its place.

"Okay, you can open your eyes."

She opened them, and he was holding the old rose in his hands. Fox tilted her head slightly in confusion; she took out what was behind her ear and looked; it was the most beautiful flower she had ever seen. It was bright orange with beautiful purple stripes running down the petals, and spots of light blue all over. She smiled at it. "Oh, Roxas! It's beautiful! Thank you." She put it behind her ear again and smiled.

Roxas stared a bit, and then a smile grew on his face slowly. "Wow… you look… really nice." With the sun shining bright from above, the flower made her face look like she was sent from heaven.

She smiled at him, and then threw her arms around him in a hug. "Thank you," she said into his ear, and then he hugged her awkwardly back.

Fox smiled, and then let him go quickly, and cleared her throat. "Oh, er… um. Well, let's go look around." She blushed and smiled, walking deeper into the city, looking at vendor's stalls with Roxas following her.

They walked around, looking at all the stalls; there were a plethora of floral things everywhere. It smelled heavenly, and everyone was happy. "Oh, what are these?" asked Roxas, pointing to some glass items on one stall.

Fox smiled. "Those are good luck charms. They say that if you wear them with you all the time, they will keep you safe from evil."

Roxas smiled at the products and picked up a small one that was star shaped. It was orange with pink stripes, and Fox smiled at it with him. "It looks like your sword, almost," she said.

He nodded, and then Fox looked up at the vendor. "How much?"

The vendor was a young woman with a cheery demeanor. "5 Denari."

Fox pulled out a small silver coin and handed it to the woman. They exchanged thanks, and then Fox walked on. "Come on, Roxas. We still have the whole town to check out!" He smiled and put the small glass star in his jacket pocket and ran after Fox.

He matched her pace and looked around at all the decorations; the roofs had small chains of flowers hanging from them, and the ground was strewn with flower petals of all kinds. Then, his stomach growled. He put his hand on his stomach and frowned. "I guess I'm kinda hungry. Can we get something to eat?"

Fox laughed and shook her head. "Of course! What are you in the mood for?" They stopped in front of a restaurant, but not just any restaurant. It was the one Roxas had left the day earlier.

He gulped visibly and walked into the alley right across from it. "Uhh… I think I'm in the mood for something from a stall. Quick food, you know?"

Fox blinked and followed him. "Alright."

Roxas followed his nose and made it to a bunch of food vendors. Shouts of, "Crepes! Fresh crepes!" "Onigiri, onigiri!" and "Fish!" were heard as they walked by.

Roxas licked his lips and looked around. "Oh man… what should I get?" he asked Fox.

She giggled. "I don't know. What do you want?"

He ran his tongue along his bottom teeth and looked at the stalls. "Uhh… I think… I think I'll get an onigiri real quick. I… heh, I spent the last of your money on the flower." He rubbed the back of his neck and smiled guiltily.

Fox took the hint and laughed, taking out a few Denari. "Knock yourself out," she said, putting them in his open hands.

He smiled a large happy smile and ran off to the closest stall, shouting over his shoulder his thanks.

Fox laughed, and followed him. Her own stomach growled slightly, but she didn't feel like taking out any more money. She'd just grab some of Roxas's.

He came back to her with two onigiri in one hand and change in the other. He gave Fox the change and she put it in her pocket as he stuffed his face. "Oh, this is… mff! This is really, mm, good!" he said around the food in his mouth.

Fox laughed again, rice crumbs covering his mouth. "Can I have some?" she asked him, and he nodded quickly, the rice flying off.

"Yeah, yeah, you paid for it." He handed her the non-bitten one, and she took a bite of it; she wasn't one to like the town's food that much, but this was actually quite good. The vendor must be from out of town.

She nodded and swallowed. "Good."

He popped the last of his into his mouth and eyed hers warily. "Mmhmm."

She saw him looking at it and giggled, handing it to him. "Here."

He smiled and stuffed it in his mouth quickly. "Mm!"

Fox took that as 'thanks!' and smiled. "You're welcome. Come on, its getting dark already, and there's one thing left I want to do."

Roxas blinked, rice on his mouth and his cheeks puffed out because they were full of food. He looked up at the sky; it really was getting dark. Maybe an hour or so left until it was time for Heartless hunting. He swallowed and looked back at her. "What did you want to do?"

She giggled and took off, saying, "Follow me!"

He ran after her, following her through the alleys and roads, the sidewalks and shop fronts.

Then, they got to a big open area; it was the plaza of the city. In the middle was a big fountain, and towards the edge of the plaza was a band playing music. People were dancing to an energetic song, and Fox ran in and joined. "Come on, Roxas. Lets dance!"

Roxas followed her and looked at the ground, standing still. "I don't know this dance."

Fox laughed and danced around. "Neither do I. I'm just making this up. Come on, its fun!"

Roxas smiled sadly at her eagerness and the tapped his foot in time with the beat. He was afraid of making a fool of himself with everyone around, so he just kind of swayed with the music. "Can we go now?"

Fox smiled and cocked her head to the side. "You can't end if you don't start."

Roxas sighed; he couldn't argue with that logic. He looked up at Fox's face, smiling back at him.

Suddenly, all he wanted to do was make her happy. He didn't care if he tripped and fell flat on his face; as long as Fox was happy he would be perfectly fine.

He grinned, and then started dancing with her. The song was very lively, and people were whirling and twirling all around them, dancing their own dances.

That's when he knew; he was in love with Fox.

He laughed, and they danced. They twirled in circles and jumped and spun, they ran around and clapped and laughed.

Everything was right with the world, and Fox was happier than she had been in ages. She looked at Roxas, smiling at her, having the time of his life while he danced and matched Fox's dance.

That was when she, too, noticed that she was in love with Roxas.

She smiled and they danced the night away, too happy to notice anything.

Then, the lively song ended, and it turned into a slow song. The conductor announced for all to hear, "This will be our last song of the evening. We hope you enjoyed the Festival."

He turned back around and conducted the band in their slow song.

Roxas smiled at Fox and held out his hand formally. "May I have this dance?"

Fox smiled back, and took his hand. "Yes."

He put his other arm on her waist, and she put hers on his shoulder.

Fox wrinkled her forehead and murmured, "I don't know how to do this dance, but this feels right."

Roxas smiled. "Neither do I."

Fox laughed once, and then they began to dance slowly. They shuffled from side to side, watching each other.

Fox was so happy that she could be so close to Roxas like this; she hadn't ever felt happier being so close to anyone in her life.

Roxas was lost in his own thoughts, too, about Fox. He was so happy to be standing this near to her and dancing with her; her hand was small and delicate… like a flower.

The music slowly came to a halt and faded out, and Fox and Roxas looked into each other's faces. Fox looked up into his bright blue eyes and then leaned closer to him, and closing her eyes slightly.

He did the same, going in for a kiss; their first kiss. Just before their lips met, thunder boomed just a little bit away.

_Damn it,_ thought Roxas angrily.

Immediately Roxas and Fox pulled away, looking around. At the same time, they said, "What was that?" as the noise echoed around the town.

They both looked up; the sky was a sickening purple and black color. Some people screamed and ran out of the plaza because small shapes of black were chasing them, hissing like cockroaches.

In the matter of a second, Roxas and Fox knew what it was.

Heartless.

Instinctively, Fox reached for her bow on her shoulder and Roxas for his sword on his back; they both grabbed air.

"Our stuff is at the shack!" exclaimed Fox, running in the direction of the shack. Roxas ran after her, dodging people and Heartless.

A woman was running across their path, pursued by a Heartless. She screamed, and it leaped in the air and tackled her to the ground. She screamed and tried to get it off, but it held fast. It stuck its hand through her, and brought out a heart. It swallowed it, and ran off to its next victim.

The woman got extremely pale, and started fading away. Fox ground her teeth, and said, "We could have saved her… damn Heartless. Come on!" And she ran faster.

Roxas felt sympathy and then something else. He didn't know what it was until he was running along right next to Fox, in the panicking town.

It was regret; he regretted that it took so long for him and Fox to almost kiss. He was so close, too. He sighed, and almost tripped over a fallen victim with a Heartless on them.

They ran on, each in their own thoughts and got out of the city. They climbed up the trail, and Fox ran into the woods. Roxas started to run after her again, but stopped and turned around to look at the city.

He blinked twice slowly, watching the chaos unfold just beneath them. Even from where he was standing, he could see all of the Heartless chasing the people in the town. He could hear their terrified screams and yells, and glanced at the sky. It was even darker and very foreboding.

Then, Fox came out of the woods with her quiver on her back and bow in hands, quickly nocking an arrow and holding it in place with one hand. She shoved his Oathkeeper at him, and he took it quickly. She looked at Hokkaido and her eyes widened; Roxas knew that was what he looked like, too, when he saw the town.

"Come on," he murmured, and started walking down the trail. Fox rushed ahead of him and slid down it as fast as she could on her feet.

Roxas stopped walking and started sliding, trying to keep his balance. They got to the bottom, and ran as fast as they could into the town. People were running from the Heartless still; they could do naught but run. They had no way of defeating them.

Then, a small child ran by as fast as her small legs would carry her past Fox and Roxas; a shadow was pursuing her and gaining rapidly.

It leaped in the air, and then screeched, an arrow sticking out of its head. It fell on the little girl who pushed it off quickly, and ran into an alleyway.

Fox ran over to the Heartless and grabbed her arrow as it faded away. She quickly put it in her quiver and ran on. "We can't split up this time, Roxas. Too many of them," she said to Roxas who ran along beside her. He nodded and ran ahead of her quickly towards a giant Heartless. Fox had never seen anything like it; but Roxas had. It was a Large Body. It was as tall as the roof, and on its stomach was a ton of fat, keeping it safe from any frontal attacks. Roxas knew this, however, and ran straight at it.

Fortunately, Large Bodies are not too bright, and it swung its cumbersome club-like arms at Roxas. Roxas dodged it, rolling around it. He hopped up once he was in back of it, and sliced at its unprotected back again and again. It fell over and disappeared.

Fox was watching from the front, and didn't know what happened. But once the Large Body disappeared and she saw Roxas standing with his sword raised and panting, she knew he had defeated it. She smiled grimly at him, and then he nodded at her. They ran on, back towards the center of the city.

People and Heartless were running all around them. They ran and ran, Fox in back and Roxas in front of her, slicing and shooting arrows at every Heartless they passed. Fox scooped up the arrows once they were used and Roxas kept at it with his Oathkeeper.

They got to the plaza where they were earlier, and a whole line of shadows popped up in front of them. "Duck!" yelled Fox, nocking 5 arrows at once. She had never actually shot 5 at the same time, but she was desperate and pulled the string back, closing one eye to aim at the Heartless. Roxas threw himself down, and

Fox fired; miraculously, the arrows hit every Heartless and she ran two fingers down her scars on the right side of her face smugly. "Take that," she muttered, and Roxas hopped up.

"Nice," he said, and Fox scooped up her used arrows quickly.

While she was picking up her arrows, a whole slew of Heartless started running towards them. Soldiers, Shadows, and Large Bodies… they all came thundering at Roxas and Fox who looked at them with wide eyes.

Fox fired her arrows at the ones in front; they fell but more took their place.

"There's no end to them!" said Fox, her voice raising a pitch.

Roxas gulped, and turned, running into the nearest alley. "Come on! Lets get out of here!" Fox took his advice and ran after him. They took an immediate right, and ran down the alley as fast as they could, panting heavily. They took another right, and ended up in the plaza again. There was no sign of the hundreds of Heartless that were chasing them; they must have tried to find them in the town.

Roxas smiled slightly at Fox, and they laughed once, happy that they tricked their hunters.

Suddenly, everything started to rumble and shake. Roxas spread his feet out a bit and tried to keep his balance and Fox grabbed onto a lamp pole to keep from falling. "Wh- what's happening?" yelled Fox over the rumble.

Roxas shouted something back, but she didn't catch it; she was too busy watching the huge dark shape rising up out of the center of the plaza. She gaped at it, watching it. It just kept rising and rising; it looked like it could almost touch the sky. Then, she saw two arms and two legs appear from the darkness. It had two huge yellow eyes and it was staring off into the city.

Roxas turned and saw it too, gaping. "It's… it's a Darkside!" he cried, unable to move.

Fox's eyes widened; it was an actual Darkside. Legendary Heartless that were insanely huge, and meant the end was near for anyone who was around to see it.

The giant Darkside turned its colossal head towards Roxas and Fox, staring down at them with two massive yellow eyes.

Fox let out a scream as it slowly brought its huge hand down on them, trying to crush them.

Roxas saw it coming, and leaped at Fox, pushing her out of the way to safety. They slid to a halt, and Roxas jumped up, helping Fox up. She stared up at the Darkside with wide eyes. "Thanks," she murmured to Roxas, still watching the Darkside.

The Darkside's hand crushed the tiles on the ground beneath it, and it lifted up its hand, looking down in the area it crushed; it didn't see two flattened little people it wanted to crush.

It slowly turned its hand over, only to find some dirt and tiles. It shook its hand, and looked over to where Roxas and Fox were standing. It stepped towards them, its foot crushing the big fountain in the center as if it were a balloon.

Fox gaped, and then shakily nocked an arrow. "We have to kill this thing!"

Roxas shook his head, and watched the Darkside slowly approaching them with wide eyes. "Yeah, and how do propose we do that, genius?"

"This is no time for smart-ass comments!" snapped Fox, running towards the Darkside, pulling her bowstring taut.

"Fox!" shouted Roxas, following her.

The Darkside watched the small human running towards it, and then felt the smallest pain in its hand. It brought its hand up to his face and saw a small wooden object embedded in its palm. It was too small to take out, so it left it there.

The Darkside felt another sting, in its leg this time. It looked down at its leg, and saw another one of the small wooden things. It bothered the Darkside, and it watched the small human. It was the one that was shooting the small wooden things. It glared at her, and brought its huge hand down upon her, crushing the ground and hearing the snap of tiles.

Fox jumped out of the way just in time, quickly firing as many arrows as she could into the Darkside's hand. Roxas ran up to the other side of its hand and slashed at it with a ferocious intensity.

The Darkside felt a new pain in its hand; the second human it had seen was slashing at its hand with what appeared to be a stick from the Darkside's view. Only it wasn't a stick; it hurt much more and it had the power of light in it. The Darkside brought its hand back up quickly, nursing it. It hurt, bad. It realized that the second one with the stick was causing him the most harm, so the Darkside let out a deafening roar, angry with the two humans.

Fox and Roxas dropped their weapons, clapping their hands to their ears. The Darkside's roar was guttural and sounded like it was coming from everywhere.

Fox yelled, trying to drown out the horribly loud noise. Roxas squinted his eyes in pain; the Darkside's roar was so loud that it hurt horrifically.

It stopped its roar, and slowly it died away. Fox quickly grabbed her bow and Roxas, his sword. The silence rang in their ears.

Suddenly, a slew of Heartless appeared in huge puffs of smoke. There must have been hundreds, and all of them turned towards Fox and Roxas.

Fox screamed and fired the last of her arrows at the Heartless. "RUN!" She screamed, and turned on her heels and took off as fast as she possibly could, her heart pounding. Roxas ran as fast as he could, too, the Heartless chasing after them and crushing anything in their path. They ran and ran, cutting corners and switching routes to confuse their predators.

They ran and ran and ran; Roxas thought his lungs would explode. Fox's lips were chapped from breathing so hard. They got out of the city and scrambled up the trail, not slowing a bit. They ran to her shack, and Fox ran into it, chucking the cover of her bed off and pulling all the boxes out from under her bed.

Roxas stopped at the doorway and fell to the ground on his hands and knees, trying to catch his breath without choking.

Fox ripped open a box, numerous clean arrows filling it. She stuffed her quiver full of arrows, and then filled her pockets with as many she could hold. She even pushed a few over at Roxas, breathing heavily; then, she groaned and clutched at the ground, dragging her fingernails along the ground in pain. Her lungs felt like they were on fire.

Roxas coughed, and stood up, stuffing the arrows in his pockets like she did. "Come… on… Dark… side," he got out between his breaths.

Fox coughed and inhaled a huge breath, standing up and nodding. Roxas stood up too, and noticed that she still had the flower in her hair; but had been ripped and blackened during the fight.

He nodded, and once again, they ran out to the city, full of arrows and hope.


	7. The Dark Side of the Darkside

The city was completely barren when Roxas and Fox ran into it. The silence of the whole place scared them. There were no people, no Heartless, no anything.

They panted and paced themselves, conserving their energy for the Darkside. They looked around as they ran; the town was in ruin. Most of the buildings were burnt to the ground or squashed by the Heartless. Tiles were broken and some crevasses lined the ground. A water line was broken, and Fox and Roxas ran through the water that was being spewed out, splashing the water everywhere.

They got to the plaza, ready for the Darkside and then stopped; it was gone. One would think a tornado ripped through the plaza, though: The fountain was reduced to mere rubble, and some of the ground was sticking up at odd angles. Fox looked all around, and then looked at Roxas in confusion.

Roxas looked around, and then noticed: the Darkside had left huge tracks. "There!" he said, pointing to the huge holes in the ground where it had stepped. Fox nodded, and they ran in the direction that the tracks went. They heard far-off thunder in the distance.

There was a huge area cleared out where the Darkside had run to; it was completely in ruin. They finally got to the edge of the destroyed city, and saw a forest. Where the Darkside had walked, it had completely decimated all the trees. Roxas and Fox ran into the woods, following the tracks.

They saw whole trees ripped out of the ground all over the place; huge footprints were left everywhere and destruction was everywhere. If Fox weren't so scared, she would have felt only hate towards the Heartless. They kept running through the dark woods, the only sounds they could hear was their frenzied breathing and the twigs and leaves breaking beneath their feet.

Then, they got out of the forest and ended up at an unfamiliar town. Fox had never gone completely through the woods, and never knew the city was there. They ran up to the broken entrance, and saw a sign on the ground. It read, "Welcome to Sunny Waterd-"

It was broken and the other half was missing. "So much for sunny," muttered Roxas, looking up at the dark and ominous sky.

Fox laughed once and looked up, too. But she wasn't interested in the sky. "Look."

Roxas looked over to where she was pointing; it was the Darkside. It was in the middle of the city, looking down.

Even for being so far away, they could still see it from where they stood because it was so huge. It looked almost as tall as the mountains behind it.

Roxas nodded, and they ran into the city, towards the heart of the town and the Darkside.

They passed shops with broken windows and houses with cracks in them. They saw pottery and debris all over the ground, shattered beyond recognition. They passed maybe one or two people on their way to the center, each running for their lives in the opposite direction.

Before they knew it, they were almost in the center of the town. They saw the Darkside; it could probably have stood in the deepest part of the ocean, and still have its head above the water.

They looked up at it, feeling scared once again.

Roxas and Fox exchanged glances. They knew that they would have to split up and go at it on separate sides with everything they had to defeat it.

Fox sighed, and nodded, turning to run. "Good luck," she said to Roxas who nodded.

"Fox… Fox, wait!" he shouted, and she stopped running. She turned around, and he ran up to her, throwing his arms around her and kissing her passionately.

At first, Fox was very surprised, but she closed her eyes and kissed him back just as enthusiastically.

Roxas pulled away slightly, and opened his eyes. "I… love you," he whispered, and then she looked up into his beautiful blue eyes.

"I love you too," she whispered back, and kissed him again.

Their lips parted, and then Roxas let her go. "I don't know if I can do it..." muttered Fox, backing up slightly.

Roxas smiled. "Fox… just remember. There is nothing stronger than your light inside you. Believe in yourself," and gave her a two-finger salute.

Fox smiled and ran off, inspired with a brand new cause to fight off the Darkside: Roxas.

Fox ran on through the alleyways, feeling extremely confident. She nocked an arrow, and ran into the plaza, spotting the Darkside immediately. She met it head on, and just as quickly as she saw it, it saw her.

Fox glared up at it, and then fired her arrow into its shin.

The Darkside pinched the small wooden arrow between its fingers and took it out of its leg and broke it as easily if it were a toothpick.

Fox bared her teeth at it and shot off a few rounds of arrows. The Darkside growled deep in its chest, and then tried to squash her with its hand again. She dodge rolled to the side quickly, and fired more arrows into it, as fast as her hands would work. It growled again, and then dropped to its knees, shaking everything. The impact of it threw Fox to the ground, but she leapt up quickly. She fired a bunch of arrows into its chest, now that it was much closer. It screeched, and then swiped at her with its hand. She jumped back, just out of reach; the tip of its fingers just barely missed her by a foot. The wind from its hand moving past her almost ripped the bow from her hands, and it knocked her to the ground, and then she looked up quickly.

It was staring right at her.

It brought its head close to her, watching her with its two huge eyes. She stared back up at it, gaping.

Then, she heard a war cry, and Roxas leaped at the thing's head, Oathkeeper held high above his own head. He slashed at the thing's face, slicing a deep cut into its cheek, and landed skillfully on the ground.

It shrieked and jerked its head back, holding a titanic sized hand to its cheek and glaring at Roxas.

Roxas ran over to Fox and helped her up. "You all right?" he asked, and she nodded quickly. He smiled, and that gave her new hope.

They stood side by side, facing the Darkside. Roxas held his sword up, poised and ready to fight. Fox held her bow, arrow held in place and string drawn back and set to fire.

The Darkside stood up, trying to intimidate them with its size. They didn't flinch at all, and it glared at them even more. It bent down a bit and grabbed a house, ripping it off of its foundation as if it were weightless as a leaf. It looked at it and then looked at Roxas and Fox. It held it high above them, and dropped it right on them. "Look out!" screamed Fox, and they both ran to opposite sides. It hit the ground right behind them, sending them flying. Fox flew through the air a bit, and then landed in a pile of boxes and slammed into a wall. She cried out and lay still, the wind knocked out of her.

Roxas had landed somewhat gracefully, rolling to avoid the force of the blow. He jumped up quickly, but then slipped and fell, banging his jaw on the ground and scraping his knee. He groaned, and rubbed his jaw.

The Darkside bent down and watched Fox, making a deep rumbling noise in its chest.

Fox glared up at it, and stood up, wincing in pain. She coughed, and spit up some blood, shaking uncontrollably and clutching her sides. The Darkside made the noise again, and shook a bit. Fox coughed again, and wiped her mouth on her sleeve, noticing at once what it was doing.

"How dare you laugh at me!" she spat at it, and whipped out an arrow, firing it right into its face. It hit one of its bright yellow eyes, and it screeched and jerked back quickly, hands held to its eye. It roared again, quieter this time and easier to bear.

Fox spit in its direction "Take that you giant Freak-side!" She ran her finger along one of her scars, and said smugly, "You can't beat me, you son of a—"

"Look out!" shouted Roxas, running in her direction.

The Darkside had gotten the arrow out of its eye and was glaring at Fox with hate.

It lifted up its foot and aimed to squash these two humans once and for all. Then, it felt a searing pain in the bottom of its foot, and fell backwards. It screeched as it fell through the air, almost in slow motion it seemed, and landed with a huge _CRASH_ on the city beneath it; debris and dust flew everywhere.

Roxas pulled his sword out of its foot, and ran towards its head. Fox fired a few more arrows into its foot, and followed him. It started to groan, just as Roxas got to where its chest was.

"Go, now, Roxas!" yelled Fox, and Roxas jumped up onto its huge chest. He ran to the middle of its chest was, right where its heart would be if it had one. He raised his Oathkeeper high straight into the air, yelling. Reversing the blade, Roxas gripped it as hard as he could, and then stabbed it right into the Heartless with as much power as he could muster, light flooding out immediately from the sword.

The Heartless let out an unearthly shriek, shattering all the glass around it; which flew in every direction. Some shards embedded themselves into Roxas's leg, and he shouted in pain.

Light erupted even more from around the Oathkeeper, and he was thrown backwards, sliding into a wall on his back. He gasped, and sat, trying to get his breath back. Fox was thrown back, too, and she slid along the ground to end up in a pile of rocks and rubble.

The Heartless screeched again, and grasped at its chest and where the sword was. It sat up quickly, and tried to get the sword out; it couldn't.

The light from the sword flooded the darkness and overcame it, the Darkside screeching horribly. It knew that it was dying, and with its last of its strength, it turned to Roxas.

Roxas watched it as its dark body turned completely white by the light, the darkness completely fading away. It roared, and threw a punch in Roxas's direction.

Roxas threw up his arms to protect himself and closed his eyes, waiting for it to connect with his body and kill him.

He waited and waited, but nothing happened. All he felt was a burst of air. He slowly opened his eyes and lowered his arms.

The Darkside was collapsing in on itself in a huge white cloud. All the darkness that was in the sky was being sucked into the cloud, too, and the Darkside turned its head to look at Roxas with hate, before it was completely swallowed by the light.


	8. A New Dawn

Roxas stood up slowly, grasping his leg. It was bleeding because of the glass shards. He took a step and cried out in pain, falling down. He landed hard on his elbows, and looked up quickly; the white cloud was slowly fading away.

He watched as the cloud got smaller and smaller, and soon it was about the size of a Large Body. It completely faded out, and his Oathkeeper dropped to the earth, clanging on the ground. He blinked at it, afraid that something else would come out. Nothing did.

He sat up slowly, and took the glass pieces out of his leg and threw them to the ground. He took off his jacket and wrapped it around his leg to stop the bleeding, and he stood up carefully. He limped over to his sword and picked it up; it was slightly warm. He smiled, and strapped it to his back and looked around for Fox. He saw her climbing out of a pile of rocks. "Fox!" he shouted and ran over to her, ignoring the pain in his leg, for her.

She smiled weakly as he came up; she had her hand clutched to her side, blood dripping slightly from her fingers. "You did it." She said, and smiled at him.

He grabbed her in a huge hug, and then Fox groaned. "Ah, my side…" she said, and he let her go carefully, still holding her with one hand.

She lifted her hand away, revealing a slice on her side; the rocks had scraped her side when she slid into them. Roxas gaped. "Are you alright?" he asked, and she nodded slightly, grasping her side again. "Yeah, I can manage." He took his jacket off of his leg and wrapped it around her side. She saw his wounded leg and said, "No, you need that."

Roxas shook his head, and said, "No. You need it much more than I do." Then he smiled at her. "We did it, Fox. We saved this place and our town; we defeated a Darkside."

Fox smiled at him, and put her bow on her good arm and grabbed Roxas's hand.

He held her hand, too, and they walked back towards Hokkaido.

Fox looked over at Roxas as they walked, seeing bits and pieces of debris in his hair, and his huge smile that he had on his face as he watched her.

Fox had never had company, nor someone she cared this much about. She still didn't really like company that much, but maybe… just maybe… it wasn't so bad.

She smiled at Roxas as they walked home, hand in hand; the sun was starting to rise. A new dawn was approaching, and who knew what it would bring with it. Fox smiled, and watched it come.

With Roxas by her side, and she by his, she knew that they could take on anything.

Anything can be done when you have someone to help you with it.


End file.
